BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

o- 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


'The  Scattered  Sheep 
of  Mission  Flocks,"  an 
Account  of  the  Pres 
ent  State  of  the  Mis 
sion  Indians  in  South 
ern  California.  1907 

Issued  by  Los  Angeles 
Council  of  the  Sequoya 
League  :  :  :  :  : 

To  make  better  Indians 


Fourth    Bulletin 


You  are  asked  to  join  the  Los  Angeles  Council  of  the  Sequoya 
League.  The  League  secured  a  model  reservation  for  the  evicted 
Warner's  Ranch  Indians;  secured  the  repeal  of  the  atrocious  "Hair- 
Cut  Order;"  has  supplied  seed-grain,  clothing,  bedding  and  food 
for  eight  months  to  the  starving  Mission  Indians;  has  opened  a 
market  for  their  basket  industry  that  has  preserved  it  from  extinction 
and  has  gone  far  toward  securing  for  these  disinherited  children  of 
the  soil,  ample  land  and  water  by  which  to  earn  a  secure  living  by 
the  application  of  labor  and  thrift.  It  has  yet  many  things  to  do. 
Membership,  $2.00  per  year ;  life  membership,  $50.00.  Remit 
to  Chas.  F.  Lummis,  200  Avenue  j$,  Los  Angeles. 


————————«—— 

LEAGUE 


TO 


l<MCOR.F»OR/VTEt>  ) 

MAKE     BETTER.    INDIANA 


Se-quo-ya,  the  American  Cadmus"  (born  1771, 
died  1842),  was  the  only  Indian  that  ever  invented 
a  written  language.  The  League  takes  its  title  from 
this  great  Cherokee,  for  whom,  also,  science  has  named 
("Sequoias"}  the  hugest  trees  in  the  world,  the  giant 
Redzvoods  of  California. 


NATIONAL    EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 
David  Starr  Jordan,    Prest.  Stanford  Univ. 
Geo.     Bird     Grinnell,     Editor     "Forest      and 

Stream,"    N.    Y. 
Chas.    Cassat   Davis,   Los  Angeles 

C.  Hart  Merriam,  Chief  Bio  log.  Survey,  Wash. 

D.  M.    Riordan,    New   York  City 

Richard     Egan.     San    Juan    Capistrano,     Cal. 
Chas.    F.    Lummis,    Chairman 


LOS    ANGELES    COUNCIL 
Prest.,  Rt.  Rev.  J.  H.  Johnson 
Treas.,    Win.   C.   Patterson 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 
Wayland  II.  Smith    (Sec.  of  the  Council) 
Miss   Cora    Foy 
Mrs.    Arturo  Bandini 
Mrs.    J.    E.    Coleman 
Chas.    F.    Lninmis,    Chairman 


ADVISORY   BOARD 


Mrs.    Phebe   A.    Hearst,    University  of   Cal. 
Archbishop   Ireland,    St.    Paul,    Minn. 
Ex-U.   S.   Senator  Thos.   R.   Bard,  California 
Edward  E.   Ayer,   Newberry  Library,  Chicago 
Miss   Estelle    Reel.    Supt.    all    Indian    Schools, 

Washington 

W.   J.    McGee,    Director   St.    Louis   Museum 
F.    W.    Putnam.    Peabody    Museum,    Harvard 

College 
Stewart    Culin,    Brooklyn    Inst. 


Field    Columbian    Museum. 


Geo.    A.    Dorsey, 

Chicago 
Dr.   T.    Mitchell   Prudden,    College   Phys.    and 

Surgeons.   N.   Y. 

Miss  Alice  C.   Fletcher,    Washington 
F.  W.  Hodge.  Smithsonian  Institution,  Wash. 
Hainlin   Garland,    author,    Chicago 
Mrs.    F.   N.    Doubleday,   New  York 
Hon.  A.   K.  Smiley  (Mohonk),   Redlands,  Cal. 
George   Kennan,    Washington 
LIFE    MEMBERS 

Mrs.  Horace  M.  Dobbins,  1204  S.  Orange  Grove  Ave..  Pasadena;  Mrs.  E.  L.  Doheny,  8 
Chester  Place.  Los  Angeles;  Josephine  W.  Drexel ;  Mary  F.  Fels,  30  Wilson  St.,  London; 
Mr.  Joseph  Fels,  39  Wilson  St.,  London;  Miss  Antoinette  E.  Gazzam.  Cornwall  on  Hudson, 
N.  Y.;  Mrs.  A.  R.  Gazzam,  Cornwall  on  Hudson,  N.  Y. ;  Miss  Mira  Hershey,  350  S. 
Grand  Ave..  Los  Angeles;  Miss  Amelia  B.  Hollenbeck,  Glen  Summit.  Pa.;  H.  E.  Hunting- 
ton,  Los  Angeles;  Homer  Laughlin,  Laughlin  Bldg.,  Los  Angeles;  J.  M.  C.  Marble,  2202 
Figueroa  St.,  Los  Angeles;  Mrs.  D.  A.  Senter.  Pasadena,  Cal.;  Thos.  Scattergood;  Geo.  W. 
Marston.  San  Diego.  Cal.;  H.  C.  Gordon,  San  Diego,  Cal. 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION 
FLOCKS 

By    W AY LA. NO   H.    SMITH. 

ADRE  JUNIPERO  SERRA  was  the  last  of  the  great 
patriarchs.     Under  him  the  Indians  were  gathered  in 
docile  and  industrious  communes.     The  beautiful  mis 
sion  buildings  were  grouped  around  enormous  patios. 
There  were  great  churches,  refectories,  kitchens,  work 
shops,  living  quarters,  where  a  marvelous  communal  life  was  lived, 
and  the  padres  were  the  fathers  of  their  people.     The  valleys  were 
tilled.    The  hills  were  covered  with  herds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  horses. 
Then  came  the  year  of  the  Independence  of  Mexico.    The  missions 


2        THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS 

passed  from  under  the  control  of  the  Spanish  crown.  The  steady 
and  wise  policy  of  the  padres  was  interrupted. 

Freedom  demands  wisdom  for  its  administration.  Nothing  is  so 
dangerous  as  the  specter  of  Freedom  without  the  directing  spirit 
of  Intelligence. 

Under  the  Mexican  politicians  the  plundering  of  the  missions  and 
the  enslavement  and  neglect  of  the  Indians  began.  It  advanced 
with  only  partial  success  until  that  momentous  day  when  the 
"Gringo"  soldiers  marched  into  Monterey  and  the  splendid,  pic 
turesque  and  prodigal  days  of  Spanish  California  were  finished. 

Under  the  Mexican  rule  there  was  at  least  some  sense  of  tacit 
responsibility  to  the  stately  work  of  the  great  padre.  But  the 
"Gringo"  knew  nothing  of  all  this.  He  was  then  as  now  an  enemy 
of  "superstition"  and  a  friend  of  "freedom."  So  he  looted  the  re- 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  PALA  VALLEY. 

maining  wealth  of  the  missions,  thus  abetting  the  Cause  of  Progress. 
He  drove  the  Indians  from  their  fat  lands  into  the  desert  and  the 
mountains.  The  fertile  mission  valleys  became  the  possession  of 
the  "non-superstitious"  and  "progressive"  white  settlers.  The 
Indians  under  such  conditions  decreased  rapidly  in  numbers  and 
became  wretchedly  poor.  But  their  hiding  places  on  the  flanks  of 
the  mountains  or  in  the  waterless  desert  were  so  obscure  and 
remote  that  even  the  wandering  American  who  might  have  been 
interested  in  fair  play  knew  nothing  of  their  unhappy  state. 

Then  over  the  plains  and  around  the  Horn  came  pouring  in  the 
Gold  Hunters  of  '49.  Lawless,  picturesque,  pre-occupied  with  the 
Quest,  they  overran  the  land  like  a  flame.  The  great  Spanish  land 
grants  were  broken  up  under  the  auspices  of  the  Gringo,  the 
Indians  driven  further  and  further  into  the  desert,  and  onto  mountain 
land  that  no  white  man  coveted. 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS       3 

In  1876  Helen  Hunt  Jackson  came  on  her  memorable  mission,  to 
look  into  the  condition  of  the  Indians  of  Southern  California.  As 
results  of  her  careful  and  sympathetic  examination  we  have  her 
famous  novel,  "Ramona,"  and  the  summing-up  of  our  too  successful 
Indian  Policy  in  "A  Century  of  Dishonor" — a  terrible  arraignment. 
She  sent  also  special  reports  to  the  Indian  Bureau. 

The  heroic  labors  of  Helen  Hunt  Jackson  probably  did  much 
toward  shortening  her  life.  Some  people  burned  with  considerable 
indignation  over  the  situation  as  shown  in  "A  Century  of  Dishonor" ; 
kind-hearted  tourists  shed  tears  at  the  fate  of  Alessandro  and 
Ramona.  Nothing  further,  however,  occurred.  Some  of  the  most 
picturesquely  outrageous  evictions  happened  after  the  investigation 
by  Mrs.  Jackson. 


CAMPANILE  AND  MISSION   AT  PALA. 

The  actual  formation  of  the  Sequoya  League  took  place  at  a 
meeting  held  in  November,  1901,  in  Mr.  C.  F.  Lummis's  residence 
on  the  Arroyo  Seco.  Work  was  begun  at  once.  Mr.  Lummis's 
vigorous  campaign  resulted,  as  an  initial  achievement,  in  the  settle 
ment  of  the  evicted  Warner's  Ranch  Indians  in  the  fertile,  well- 
watered  Mission  Valley  at  Pala,  instead  of  the  somewhat  arid  loca 
tion  first  selected.  These  Indians  are  now  happy  and  prosperous. 
The  land  is  ample  for  all  their  wants.  Here  follows  a  brief 
description  of  the  present  condition  of  Indian  matters  in  Southern 
California. 

CAMPO. 

The  Sequoya  League's  discovery  and  amendment  of  the  starving 
condition  of  the  Campo  Indians  excited  at  the  time  national  interest. 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS 


HEADGATES   OF   NEW    PALA    DITCH. 

When  Senator  Flint  visited  Campo  with  Mr.  Lummis  and  the  writer, 
shortly  after  his  election,  he  said  that  he  wanted  to  know  Indian 
conditions  in  Southern  California  at  first  hand  and  for  himself. 
That  trip  was  epoch-making-  in  the  history  of  the  Indian  situation  in 
Southern  California.  More  has  been  done  to  adjust  the  historic 
wrongs  of  the  Mission  Indians  during-  the  last  two  years,  than  in 
all  the  years  since  the  coming  of  the  Gringo.  It  was  late  Fall  when 
the  trip  was  undertaken.  Sixty  miles  of  uphill  climb  due  east  of 
San  Diego,  among  mountains  of  inconceivable  savag'eness  and  re 
moteness,  brought  us  to  Campo.  As  many  more  miles  over  unused 
roads  and  bridle-paths  showed  us  the  various  reservations  of  La 


LOWER  END  OF  TUNNEL,  PALA  IRRIGATING  CANAL. 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS       5 


RIPRAPPING  BELOW  SAND  TRAP  IN   NEW  PALA  DITCH. 

Posta,  Manzanita,  Cuyapipe  and  Laguna,  and  their  gaunt  and  half- 
starved  inhabitants. 

The  result  of  this  rough  wagon-ride  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles, 
and  others  that  we  took  later,  was  shown  in  Senator  Flint's  splendid 
work  in  securing  the  appropriation  of  $100,000,  now  being  laid  out 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Kelsey,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
land  and  water  to  the  Indians  of  Southern  California.  Thirty 
thousand  dollars  of  this  fund  will  be  spent  in  the  rehabilitation  of 
the  five  Campo  reservations.  Twelve  hundred  acres  of  land  with 
abundant  water,  have  been  purchased  from  this  fund.  Of  this,  420 
acres  are  arable;  120  acres  irrigable.  It  is  proposed  to  add  to  the 
Manzanita  and  La  Posta  reservations  the  newly  purchased  land, 


RIPRAPPINC  AT  HEAD  OF  NEW   PALA  DITCH. 


6        THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS  • 

carrying"  with  it  the  use  of  some  30  inches  of  gravity  water.  To  this 
will  be  added  by  Congressional  action  over  20,000  acres  of  Govern 
ment  land,  useful  only  for  grazing  cattle.  ( It  is  hoped  to  interest 
these  Indians  in  the  raising  of  cattle.)  This  will  make  a  single 
reservation  of  22,000  acres  some  forty-five  miles  in  circumference. 
It  is  proposed  to  fence  the  entire  reservation,  develop  the  water  and 
put  in  ditches,  buy  up  the  improvements  of  McCain,  who  has  been 
squatting  (by  the  Surveyor's  error,  be  it  said)  on  200  acres  of 
Manzanita  reservation  land,  and  to  aid  the  Indians  in  building  the 
necessary  houses.  When  this  is  completed,  the  Campo  Indians  will 
be  in  fine  condition  to  let  alone.  What  these  Indians  need  is 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  inalienable  land  and  water,  that  they  can 
divide  according  to  their  custom,  to  suit  themselves,  and  then  to  be 
let  alone.  Nothing  is  worse  for  the  Indians  than  the  uneasy,  in- 


INDTANS  FISHING  IN  A  SPRING  FRESHET, 

quisitive,  meddlesomeness  that  many  benevolent  whites  believe  to  be 
essential  to  Indian  well-being ;  yet  a  reasonable  independence  to  the 
Indians  can  be  secured  only  as  the  result  of  a  constant  and  vigilant 
awareness  of  the  dangers  of  the  situation. 

PA  LA. 

Chief  Engineer  Code  of  the  Indian  Service  has  recently  completed 
some  extensive  improvements  that  vastly  better  the  usefulness  of  the 
irrigating  canal  at  Pala.  New  ball-bearing  intake  gates  have  been 
erected  at  the  point  of  juncture  with  the  San  Luis  Rey  River  (whose 
entire  flow  may  be  diverted  to  the  canal ) .  A  covered  concrete 
conduit  has  been  located  where  it  cannot  be  washed  away,  as  the 
old  one  was  ;  a  practical  sand-trap  has  been  built,  and  the  entire 
ditch  put  into  serviceable  condition.  When  the  system  of  lateral 
ditches  now  being  dug  by  the  Indians  is  complete,  Pala  will  have 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS       7 

as  fine  a  system  of  gravity  irrigation  as  could  be  asked  for.  When 
the  foolish  "portable"  houses  furnished  by  the  department  (hot  to 
suffocation  in  summer  and  cold  as  ice-chests  in  winter)  have  been 
replaced  by  Indian-built  adobe  houses,  the  old  mission  valley  of 
Pala  will  be  in  fine  condition  for  the  government  to  let  alone,  so  that 
the  Indians  may  work  out  their  own  salvation  in  their  own  way. 
Nothing  can  be  more  stupid  or  more  hurtful  than  the  persistent 
attempts  to  remake  Indians  on  white  patterns. 

PA  CHANG  A. 

For  years  the  Pachanga  Indians  have  been  obliged  to  haul  their 
entire  water  supply  some  five  miles  in  barrels.  This  included  all 
water  used  for  drinking,  bathing,  cooking  and  garden  use.  It  is 
not  perhaps  remarkable  that  bathing  was  curtailed  under  such  cir- 


T\vo   YOUNG    MATRONS   OF   MANZANTT\    RESERVATION. 

cumstances.  There  is  a  good  spring  in  a  canon  adjoining  the 
reservation,  located  on  Government  land.  When  Senator  Flint  was 
in  Pachanga  he  went  up  and  examined  this  spring,  recognized  the 
urgency  of  the  situation,  and  promised  the  Indians  that  he  would 
do  what  he  could  to  have  a  pipe  put  in  to  carry  the  water  down  to 
the  village.  He  also  noticed  the  inadequacy  of  the  land  to  support 
the  Indians.  -  As  a  result,  Mr.  Kelsey  has  been  empowered  to  buy 
some  235  acres  of  fine  land  from  the  Little  Temecula  grant  (their 
former  home),  which  will  be  added  to  the  reservation,  together  with 
the  Government  land  containing  the  spring  spoken  of.  The  pipe 
line  -from  the  spring  is  also  being  constructed.  Altogether  some 
$10,000  have  been  expended.  This  pipe  will  furnish  about  30,000 
gallons  of  water  a  day,  not  enough  for  irrigation,  but  ample  for 
household  use  at  Pachanga.  The  Indians  here,  it  is  expected,  will 
be  made  self-supporting. 


8        THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS 


LOS    CONEJOS. 

These  Indians  have  long  been  in  great  destitution.  They  live  on 
an  isolated  section  of  the  Capitan  Grande  reservation  and  have  been 
saved  great  suffering  by  food  and  clothing  furnished  through  the 
League.  Enough  land  has  been  added  to  their  reservation  to  make 
them  comfortably  independent,  and  their  water  supply  has  been 
protected.  The  water  supply  on  the  various  Southern  California 
reservations,  vastly  important  and  heretofore  overlooked,  has  been 
especially  cared  for  by  Mr.  Kelsey. 

AGUA    CALTENTE. 

At  this  reservation,  also  called  Palm  Springs,  $6,000  have  been 
spent  in  securing  the  Barney  land,  some  800  acres,  and  all  rights, 
including  a  pipe-line  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  6,000  feet  in 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  OLD  MISSION  AT  PALA 

The  walls  were  decorated  with  paintings  done  by  Indians.     These  were 
recently  destroyed  by  a  coat  of  whitewash. 

length,  carrying  abundant  water.     Some  water  rights  in  the  canon 

below  are  included. 

PAUMA. 

On  this  reservation  a  reservoir  will  be  built,  securing  to  the  Indians 
a  permanent  water  supply  that  has  been  greatly  needed. 

SANTA    ROSA. 

These  Indians  are  located  inside  the  forest  reserve.  This  secures 
them  from  molestation,  and  an  attempt  is  being  made  to  have  the 
land  occupied  by  them  given  to  them  legally. 

SANTA    YSABEL    AND    MESA    GRANDE. 

The  e?cact  limits  of  these  two  reservations  have  been  long  in  doubt 
and  the  Indians  have  always  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  about  them 
with  the  adjoining  settlers.  The  Santa  Ysabel  Indians  were  long 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS 


Photo,  by  Mrs.  C.  B.  Daggett 

AN    OLD   CAMPO   INDIAN   WHO  REMEMBERS   THE   DAYS 
OF  THE  PADRES  AT  SAN  Luis  REY. 

ago  evicted  from  their  homes  in  the  beautiful  and  fertile  Santa 
Ysabel  Valley  in  the  high-handed  fashion  so  popular  in  dealing  with 
the  aborigines  of  the  coast.  They  are  now  living  on  the  top  of  a 
flat  mountain  called  Volcan,  and  in  an  adjoining  canon.  The 
boundaries  of  both  reservations  are  being  settled,  and  both  will  be 
fenced.  The  League  has  earnestly  demanded  the  fencing  of  all 
these  Southern  California  reservations,  and  most  of  them  will  now 
be  fenced.  The  importance  of  this  is  clear  to  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  aggressive  habits  of  white  settlers  located  near  Indian  lands. 

CABEZON,  TORRES,   ETC. 

A  pumping  plant,  as  designed  by  Chief  Engineer  Code,  is  being 


10      THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS 

erected  for  these  Indians.  It  is  located  on  the  highest  part  of  the 
reserve,  and  will  irrigate  250  acres  of  land  that  is  now  without 
water.  The  new  wells  will  be  of  large  capacity,  and  should  make 
the  land  fruitful. 

SAN    AUGUSTIN. 

Here  also  an  artesian  well  is  being  bored  and  an  auxiliary  pump 
ing  plant  installed.  This  land  is  of  excellent  quality,  and  with  water 
will  make  a  fine  property. 

MORONGO. 

Tests  of  the  cicnega  by  borings,  etc.,  are  being  made  to  see  if  there 
is  water  enough -to  warrant  a  cement  dam  to  bed-rock.  If  practical, 
this  will  be  built.  If  not,  some  other  means  of  securing  a  water 
supply  will  be  used. 


Photo,  by  Mrs.  C.  B.  Daggett 

AN   OUTLYING  HUT  OF  THE  CAMPO  RESERVATIONS. 
SAN    MANUEL. 

Here  a  five-acre  tract  that  has  been  used  by  the  Indians  as  a 
garden  and  a  seven-acre  tract  above  the  ditch,  containing  the  Indian 
cemetery  and  orange  trees,  have  been  bought.  Among  the  Indians, 
their  cemeteries  are  held  in  the  highest  veneration,  and  no  greater 
calamity  can  befall  them  than  to  lose  the  burial  place  of  their  dead. 

CAHUILLA. 

Attempts  are  being  made  to  develop  water  when  it  seems  feasible 
and  an  enlargement  of  the  reservoir  has  been  begun. 

MARTINEZ. 

Some  fifteen  artesian  wells  will  be  put  in  at  and  below  Martinez, 
as  soon  as  the  question  of  the  Salton  Sea  is  settled  to  the  Depart 
ment's  satisfaction. 

CHIMEVI. 

The  lands  occupied  by  these  Indians  on  the  Colorado  River  have 


THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  .MISSION  FLOCKS      11 

been  temporarily  reserved,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  land  will  be 
allotted  to  them  or  other  suitable  provision  will  be  made. 

SAN    PASQUAL. 

Nothing  has  yet  been  accomplished  for  these  Indians,  but  it  is 
hoped  that  they  may  be  cared  for  in  the  near  future. 

GOVERNMENT    LANDS. 

Large  tracts  of  government  lands  have  been  set  apart  as  additions 
to  the  reservations  of  Capitan  Grande,  Inyaha  and  Agua  Caliente. 
There  have  been  also  additions  of  Government  land  to  the  reserva 
tions  of  Campo,  Laguna  and  Cuyapipe,  besides  those  already  re 
ferred  to  in  connection  with  the  new  reservation  purchased  by  the 
Government  at  Manzanita.  All  this  indicates  a  long  stride  toward 
the  completion  of  the  local  work  undertaken  four  years  ago  by  the 
Los  Angeles  Council  of  the  Sequoya  League.  We  feel  that  too 


Photo,  by  Mrs  C.  B.  Daggett 

Two  CAMPO  PATRIARCHS. 

much  praise  cannot  be  given  to  Senator  Flint  for  his  intelligent  and 
tireless  work,  and  to  Mr.  Kelsey,  Special  Agent  for  California 
Indians — for  his  handling  of  a  problem  that  demands  minute 
knowledge  of  the  situation,  and  much  horse  sense. 

A    WORD   ABOUT    INDIAN    BASKETS. 

Indian  basket  work  is  perhaps  the  only  product  of  unaided, 
aboriginal  skill  that  has  found  a  place  in  American  households. 
The  art  of  weaving  baskets  had  almost  died  out  among  many  of 
the  Mission  Indians,  when  the  Sequoya  League  brought  about  a 
general  revival  of  the  industry  by  taking  and  selling  the  entire  pro 
duction  of  a  number  of  obscure  reservations  seldom  visited  by 
tourists  and  out  of  the  lines  of  travel.  On  the  five  Campo  reserva 
tions,  basket  making  had  become  practically  extinct.  By  personal 
encouragement  and  the  certainty  of  a  ready  sale,  the  Indian  women 
have  been  brought  to  take  renewed  interest  in  their  ancient  and 


12      THE  SCATTERED  SHEEP  OF  MISSION  FLOCKS 

characteristic  art.  Many  hundreds  of  dollars  have  thus  been  added 
to  the  scanty  earnings  of  the  tribes. 

The  Sequoya  League  has  felt  that  it  would  be  a  loss  to  the  white 
race  as  well  as  to  the  Indians  to  have  this  noble  and  beautiful  in 
dustry  fail  from  lack  of  encouragement. 

Mrs.  Chas.  F.  Lummis,  200  East  Avenue  43,  Los  Angeles,  has 
kindly  taken  charge  of  the  basket  selling  for  the  League — 
entirely  without  pay.  Her  disinterested  help  has  been  invaluable 
in  the  work  of  reviving  the  weaving  of  baskets  among  the  Indians. 
On  one  of  the  most  visited  reservations,  the  writer  found  that  the 
Indian  women  under  the  cultured  impetus  of  tourist  encouragement, 
were  copying  on  baskets  designs  taken  from  lace  curtains,  wall  paper 
and  other  of  our  factory-made  art  products.  The  League  has 
strongly  encouraged  the  use  of  the  old  Indian  designs  and  colors — 
those  expressions  of  the  ancient  race  genius  of  a  sincere  and  artistic 
people.  These  baskets  are  sold  at  most  reasonable  prices  and  it 


Photo,  by  Mrs.  C.  B.  Daggett 

FAMILY  GROUP  AT  CAMPO. 

might  be  well  to  suggest  that  buyers  of  Christmas  and  other  presents 
would  be  wise  to  see  Mrs.  Lummis's  baskets. 

The  function  of  the  Sequoya  League  is  to  maintain  a  center  of 
informed  interest  in  Indian  affairs — knowing  what  to  do  and  how 
to  do  it.  The  Indians  are  children,  quite  incompetent  to  make  head 
way  against  the  cunning  or  force  of  the  white  settlers  who  covet 
their  lands.  The  League  proposes  to  see  that  the  Indians  are  justly 
treated.  They  are  Indians,  not  white  men ;  with  Indian  blood,  the 
Indian  traditions,  and  also  the  Indian  sense  of  dignity  and  honor. 
It  is  the  League's  suggestion  that  they  may  remain  Indians  if  they 
want  to,  as  they  unquestionably  do ;  and  that  they  should  be  also 
guaranteed,  out  of  the  boundless  lands  that  we  have  taken  from  them, 
at  least  enough  on  which  to  gain  a  decent  living  by  labor  and  thrift. 
This  the  Sequoya  League  has  set  itself  to  secure;  and  when  it  is 
secured,  to  make  permanent,  being  well  assured  that  eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  red  as  well  as  white  independence. 

From  "Out  West,"  October,    1907 


